aggiebassin

i'm sorry to hear that. i have only had one problem with one shimano ever. it was a 50 mg, but i bought it at academy and just exchanged it. the odds can't be too great that you would get 3 reels that are messed up...you must be a lucky guy.....lol sorry again....

i use a 7' heavy falcon cara w/ a new 7.1 curado and 17-20 lb mono. i just don't like using braided line.

i use both, but mostly a 6'6" M/F spinning rod. i just like they way it casts them better. i use a bc if i am around heavier cover, but mostly a spinning reel.

i don't think it would hurt it unless you have your drag tightened down all the way where it can't give any. even if so as long as you don't do it all of the time it will be fine

i totally understand. i mostly fish plastics. but in the past i usually only bought stuff i had confidence in....brush hogs, lizards, 1 type of craw, and a couple styles of worms then this past year i got in with a bad crowd....a tourney fisherman.. ;D..and now i can't go to academy or wal mart w/o buying $10-15 worth of plastics. i went from having 2 3700's and a 3600 full of plastics to having a complete bag full of plastic packages now i have beaver tails, all sorts of creature baits, tubes, 3-4 different types of craws, paddle tailed worms, and not to mention i have probably bought 200 senko knockoffs lately...including a 100 pack from my buddy's sponsor my goal is to not buy anything else until i catch enough fish to tear up some of these plastics....but that stupid monkey is always whispering in my ear

i hate to see that. i believe in slective harvest and keep some small fish from the private lake i fish. you have to keep some of the smaller fish to prevent overpopulation. but to keep a fish like those.... :'(...i just don't get it. i can maybe accept keeping one to mount (although i would just take measurements and get a fiberglass replica) this guy has to be eating these fish....which to me makes no sense really. smaller fish are more tender and have smaller bones. not to mention giving yourself and others a chance to re-catch this fish after some weight gain. that is one of the things i like more about fishing than hunting, (and i am a very very avid hunter) is you can release your trophies

one word.........WOW!!!!!

i like them for pitching/flipping so as some have said, you can get it back to you as fast as possible and get fish out of cover

if you are flipping you do not need line capacity. if you get a 100 size citica it will hold all you need of 50# braid. and if you have a "low capacity" spool, it will be lighter and therefore you will be able to cast and pitch farther if you ever need to

how many of you guys use these types of baits? and if so how do you fish them? i know they are a c-rig bait, but do you use them for any other presentation? thanks jason

i have one of the older gold cardiff 100's. when i got it i loved it, (i still LIKE it) but now i have a 50 mg and a new curado and the cardiff just doesn't seem to cast as well. so i thought about upgrading the spool support bearings. so where do i get them? and what size do i need? and which ones? and just out of curiosity....which grades of bearings do the following reels have in them? old calcutta 200 50 mg curado 200 DHSV and the older cardiff 100 thanks in advance jason

nice!!!

i have fished tx rigged craws as well. my favorite is the gene larew salt craw black w/ blue pinchers. awsome bait. probably my favorite and go to bait. the lake i fish is loaded with crawfish and the bass key on them. seems they produce more than lizards or worms or anything else for that matter but i haven't been able to find them around lately. so i figured i would give these a try

my local tackle store had zoom 30% off and i bought some speed craws. do any of you guys fish these on a tx rig?? i have some buddies that fish them on c-rigs regularly. but on my main waters, really shallow water, i hardly ever fish a c-rig. but my bread and butter is tx rigging plastics. they look like they would put off some good vibrations w/ the claws, so i'm guessin they will work? but was just wanting to hear some positive reinforcement on my purchase.... thanks jason

1. tx rigged craw/trick worm/lizard/tube (almost anything tx rigged) 2. chart/white spinnerbait 3. senko knockoff

i throw knockoffs. tiki sticks, big bite trick sticks, etc. some definitely work better than others. but i do not see the need to pay $6 for 10 senkos, when can pay $1-$2 for 10 knockoffs. i have fished them side by side and the results were not enough to justify paying triple for them. but my home lake.....or big pond i should say >40 acres, is very un-pressured....except by me. so that coulb be the reason. maybe if you fished a lake where fish saw all kinds of senkos/knockoffs the little extra action of the GYBC might make a difference. but in my experience it isn't worth it. to pay $6 for 10 fish or 10 bites since they aren't the most durable bait around.

oh, and probably a 6'6" MH since you fish plastics alot 6'6" will get you longer casts from shore and the MH will be able to get a good hookset

one thing about the spirex you might want to know, is that it doesn't have infinite anti reverse (super stopper) the rotor has to return to where the trigger is facing up. which means when you set the hook it can make almost a complete turn backwards. which can make setting the hook more difficult. if you can find a bps combo with the sahara i thing it would be a better deal. since the sahara has the super stopper feature

they are probably the best $40 rod out there.....probably as good as some $60-$70 rods

if you count soft plastics i have caught many fish on $.99 packs of 10 worms or craws or tubes....whatever i find on sale. but if you don't count plasctics i would probably say $.99 spinnerbaits from wal mart

i never owned an old curado, but have fished with one. and i would have to say the new curado is definitely better. the 200 size is bigger than the old, but it sits low on a rod so it doesn't feel that big. it casts forever and is super smooth. the citica is about on the same level as the old curado's i believe.....which are great reels as well

i would say the 50# on a baitcasting reel. the larger diameter prevents the line from digging into itself on a hookset and during the fight. which will cause casting problems on your next cast.

me and my dad both used spiderwire alot a few years ago and we never had it break either. if you were hung up you either bent the hook or cut the line b/c it would not break. i'm not saying spiderwire is great or even good.....but it is strong and lasts for a long time

i fish shimanos, and love them. but daiwas are super reels too. the main reason i fish shimanos is my dad fished them, and has two of the old bantams that are i would say 20+ years old and still goin strong. so when i bought my first quality reel.....it was a shimano. i really didn't know much about daiwas or any other brand for that matter or it might have been a different story. but of all my shimanos....7 of them. none have ever given me any problems so i see no reason to buy another brand. but all in all i don't think you can make a wrong choice between the two. go to the store and hold a few see which feels the best.

i know what you mean. i had a day early last summer when i was flipping into some cat-tails with everything i could think of. brush hogs, crawfish, beavertails....nothing. until i put on a 5" flipping tube. they were all over that. but nothing else....not even any other bait in the same color. :-? and sometimes no matter what you throw you can hammer them all day long. that's what makes this sport so much fun.